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Samsung Smart TVs Injected Ads Into Streamed Video
mpicpp sends this news from CNET:
Reports are emerging that Samsung smart TVs have begun inserting short advertisements directly into video streaming apps, with no influence from the third-party app providers. The news comes just days after Samsung made headlines for another incursion into users' lounge rooms, when it was revealed that its TV voice recognition software is capable of capturing personal information and transmitting it to third parties. ... The issue has been reported on the Plex streaming service — a brand of media player that allows users to stream their own video from a personal library or hard drive and push it to a smart TV.
Samsung says this was not intentional, and that they've fixed it so the ads should no longer show up.
What they mean by that is that they didn't intend for people to object to the ads or for their poor behavior to be called out.
It's really too bad, I have an older Samsung HDTV and it's really great. I was considering buying another Samsung when the time came to replace it. Now what am I going to buy? Sony? Vizio?
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
Well, don't buy LG -- they do the same thing as Samsung. In addition to forcibly displaying ads, they have other problems, too -- they invalidated my HDMI cables because they updated the protocol ports without asking leaving me to buy new equipment so they could 'enforce copyright laws'.
Check the qualifiers. That behavior was intended, but for other markets. Samsung does have plans to introduce it to the Australian market, but in the long term.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Vizio is a pretty solid brand... at least for their larger TVs. Decent contrast, good response time, and if you choose carefully, no Smart TV nastiness. Of course, we bought the Smart TV at the time, but it doesn't get in the way. The only way you'll see it is if you press a certain button. And personally, they did Smart TV right. If you need it, it's there and easy to access. If you don't want it, don't worry about it - out of mind, out of sight.
Check the qualifiers. That behavior was intended, but for other markets. Samsung does have plans to introduce it to the Australian market, but in the long term.
That's exactly it. There's no way for them to claim it's unintentional, as it takes intentional code to create this behavior. I don't know what on earth these people are thinking, but I won't be buying any "smart" TV that decides to share my conversations and injects ads where they don't belong. Same thing goes for Keurig and their DRM'd coffe makers or any other "smart" applicances. It seems that every "smart" appliance has a lot of foolish thinking behind it.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Well, you can sort of test this. Either start randomly saying strawberries and see if you get adds for them. Alternatively, you can mock a murder scene in your living room, have someone come in and shriek at the horrer and describe the carnage then mock kill them. Spend thr next 20 minute trying to get blood off the walls and carpets. See if the cops show up or if you get adds for cleaning services.
Since when were dumb TVs ever subsidized by ads? The low cost of today's flat panel televisions is largely due to advances in electronics and mass manufacturing, not some hidden stealth subsidy. It's the programming that is subsidized by ads, not the device itself.
It seems that every "smart" appliance has a lot of foolish thinking behind it.
AKA greed. I'd be surprised if I'm the only person who avoids companies that keep finding ways to get around ad blockers.
VENDORS: Wanna advertize to me? Do it DISCRETELY while I'm SEARCHING for YOUR product; and ONLY if you have a product I'm looking for; otherwise, you lose me as a customer/client. Want me to receive your ads? PAY *me*, not only the ad pushers!
Gotta wonder... would Pepsi, Coke and other "name brands" really lose much business if they stopped advertising? Or would their net profit increase by not wasting $$ on ads?
But if all tv makers do the same thing, you'll vote with your wallet by not having a tv at all. Other people (like me) only found out about LG reporting back to their servers what you're watching only after buying the TV, and unplugging ethernet was easier than taking the TV back.
It's an invasion of privacy, no different than medical information or what you talk about with your lawyer, yet there are privacy protections there. It should be the same here.